larger units of sound-words. "They must be
able to differentiate words from syllables, and eventually they must become
able to hear phonemes in both words and syllables (Eldredge, pg. 51)."
This will help children begin to learn to differentiate between words and
syllables by taking that first step toward understanding units of sound.

Materials:For the first lesson you will need the following:Index cards or sentence strip cards with
sentences written on them, one word on each card. Example sentence:
We had fun at school. Be sure not to make them too long or confusing.You will also need an assessment sheet with
a selected number of sentences from the book, You Are Special by Max Lucado
(you will also need a copy of the book).Procedures:1. First read the book, You Are Special
to the class. Be sure to allow the class time to discuss the book.2. "Today we are going to play a game
with sentences. A sentence is not only made up of words we say, but
they are also made up of words we write. For every word you say,
there is a way to write it. For example, the sentence 'I love you.'
has three words: I, love, and you (write these on the board as you say
them. Here, you can use a sentence from the book as your example)."3. Tell students: "Now I am going
to pick five of you to stand in front of the class and help me with something.
I will give each of you a card to hold with one of the words I say on it."
Sentence: We had fun at school.4. Start the game. I will read
the sentence aloud, pointing at each word as I say it.5. I will then tell the students "I
will read the sentence again and when I say the word that you are holding,
raise it above your head like this."6. We will then move to the next part
of the game. "Class, I want everyone in their seats to close your
eyes. I am going to take one of the words away (turn one of the cards
around or take one away). Now everyone can open your eyes.
Who can tell me what word is missing?" Let the class guess.7. Continue this with other words in
the sentence.8. Assessment: Give them a sheet with
around five sentences on it. Ask children to count how many words
are in each sentence.Reference:J. Lloyd Eldredge, 1995. Teaching Decoding
In Holistic Classrooms: Developing Phonemic Awareness Through Stories,
Games, and Songs. Pp. 61-62.Elucidations